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Bobby Heugel is a connoisseur of many things but bad drinks and worse, poor menu descriptions just aren't his cup of tea. Throughout the years, Houston's King of Cocktails has been quite vocal on these issues, counteracting such injustices by sharing his wealth of knowledge through workshops, and possibly in the near future, publishing his own cocktail book. But sometimes a person just needs to vent and that's exactly what the James Beard Award nominated bartender and restauranteur did yesterday.
The Houston native visited Austin-import Doc's Motorworks Bar & Grill yesterday afternoon, located a few blocks down Westheimer from his classic cocktail bar Anvil Bar & Refuge. It was there Heugel spied the Flying Longhorn, a cocktail popular among University of Texas fans, which consisted of "UV orange vodka, a can of Red Bull, and a ho lotta sumpthin' sumpthin' served in a draft glass." Showing his possible disgust, the revered bartender posted a picture of the menu to Instagram, captioning it with, "9.75? This is why we can't have nice things. Please make it stop."
The responses Heugel received were entertaining, with one follower asking, "is 'sumpthin' sumpthin'' code for shitty ice?" and another, "a ho for under $10? That's a deal." For the record, in case you're wondering, "a ho lotta sumpthin' sumpthin'" is the clear and potent spirit Everclear. Still, $10 for cheap vodka, Red Bull and a high proof spirit is a bit steep, even if its worded to make it sound alluring to the sports fans who frequent the bar's outpost in Montrose.
Of course someone on Twitter fired back, questioning Heugel's price points at his cocktail establishments, which include tequila and mescal The Pastry War, wine bar and restaurant Underbelly, craft beer bar The Hay Merchant, bourbon oasis Julep co-owned fittingly by Houston's Queen of Cocktails Alba Huerta, and The Nightingale Room.
@Lake_Speed There's kinda a difference in the quality of ingredients; that's the the point. How much do you charge to be annoying for years?
— Bobby_Heugel (@Bobby_Heugel) March 20, 2015
The Twitterer continued back and forth with Heugel for several tweets, ending the disagreement by suggesting Heugel "chill" because the proprietor owns "some of the most hyped & successfu bars/rest in [Houston]."
@Bobby_Heugel not to mention @HayMerchant's pricing + misleading "pint" glass notation. Im not defending Docs cocktails but glass house dude
— Layne (@Lake_Speed) March 20, 2015
@Lake_Speed Its cool. Don't come in to our bars. I hope our staff gets to take care of better people when they work hard ever night anyway.
— Bobby_Heugel (@Bobby_Heugel) March 20, 2015
@Bobby_Heugel chill bb. Tbh u own some of the most hyped & successful(?) bars/rest in Hou. Why bitch about a 9.75 drink at Docs? K I'll stop
— Layne (@Lake_Speed) March 20, 2015
@Lake_Speed It's ok. Youre just saying inaccurate things and being annoying (no surprise). No worries. Maybe strive to be more than a troll?
— Bobby_Heugel (@Bobby_Heugel) March 20, 2015
Gotta love Bobby F***ing Heugel for keeping it real 24/7.
